Zone: 0 is a Sonic the Hedgehog game information site aiming to provide reference and strategy guides of more depth and clarity than ever before. With screenshots, maps and incredibly thorough descriptions for every level, Zone: 0 is an unofficial Sonic site like absolutely no other..

A cheerful little water level set around crumbling ruins in a small lake, hidden within a thick forest. The water divides the stage right along the middle, and one main route (filled with intertwining roads) lies above it, while the other is submerged below, where things can get much more tricky. As long as you stay on the high road, you should have few problems with this brief stage.

30th August 2012
Sonic & Knuckles guide complete: Death Egg Zone added, The Doomsday Zone and game endings added to the Stages and Stories page, and Downloads page added.

Well at least someone is updating this site with new content! Ricky Earl resumes his pledge to artwork up as many of my zones as he would care to within his lifetime. This time it's Aquatic Ruin Zone - good isn't it?

So expect Casino Night in another couple of years, right Ricky? I'm one to talk.

Whatever you want to say about Sonic games since going 3D, one thing you can't accuse them of is staying the same. They are a far more varied bunch than their 2D brethren, and SEGA have constantly experimented with new ideas to not only try to capture the essence of Sonic in the third dimension, but also seeing what new gameplay mechanics can be deployed to make it more interesting. Opinions on the results have often varied, to put it mildly, and so they kept trying, diversity brought on by an endless stream of feedback. Finally, it seemed they had found something that both critical and fan reception agreed was pretty good in Sonic Colours and Sonic Generations, and peace was restored.

Now we know how to make a 3D Sonic game, right? Well yes, but one thing all those wildly diverse Sonic games were good at was getting your hopes up. Maybe the next game will work better than the last. No? How about the next? They can always come up with new ways of making fans hopeful and thus still interested in the franchise, but it seems to me like the one thing SEGA are truly afraid of is Sonic becoming stale and same-y.

Why else would you make the new Wii U game, Sonic Lost World, one of the most different Sonic experiences yet after finally finding a gameplay mechanic that works? Gone are the frenzied euphoric dashes through detailed environments, boost button firmly under finger. It's a game that for the most part relieves the blue blur of a lot of his speed and traditional momentum physics, and puts him in a far more simplistic, fanciful and less ordered world than he's accustomed to. Yet at the same time, it emphasises, more than any other game in the series, the technical joy of proper platforming and an ingenious variety of objects, hazards and gimmicks the likes of which have been few and far between until now. One could say it's the absolute antithesis of "boost to win" gameplay.

With such a varied fan-base to contend with, Sonic Lost World was always going to be a game that divided opinion. Whether you're a classic purist, a modern speed freak, or someone just looking for a great technical platforming experience, whatever your first thoughts were on seeing the game in action, I would imagine they would not change much upon playing it.. But let's find out anyway...

Sonic's latest Wii U outing turns away from the popular and well established speed dashes of recent games, in favour of a more traditional platformer approach. But does it work? Get ready for one of the most different Sonic games in every respect!